Anyone get out over the weekend? The ice has largely gone from the lakes in the Northeastern US. This marks a nice time when the trout stocking hasn't taken place, and the ones that are around are seasoned a bit from living in natural conditions. Some places offer native or wild trout angling for brookies or landlocked salmon, but other species are introduced.

Maybe not quite your cup of tea but... DFW is putting the week ending stocking reports online. Any day fishing is better than...well you know. http://216.71.206.188/images/flytalk/Wilk.gif

grego

03-09-2000, 07:05 PM

I just talked to my dad on the phone. He took a drive down to Long Pond, because it was so nice. He said there was about 20 guys fishing two rods each, most using power bait and a few trout were taken. He did not fish as there was not enough room to FF.

juro

03-10-2000, 07:09 AM

Sully - You know my perspective... might as well put them in where they provide something out of nothing, but I am hotly opposed to putting them in where there are natives that will be impacted. The problem is we don't seem to care what happens as long as the masses can throw corn and powerbait.

I am feeling the urge to start a grass-roots initiative to identify and protect wild and native trout streams in the area from stocking routes. The excess factory fish can be thrown in some other kettle pond instead. Anyone interested?

Lefty

03-10-2000, 12:25 PM

No. I'd rather get behind a grass roots initiative to get the uneducated to Catch+Release schooly stripers without a drop kick or squeeze of death. To maintain healthy native trout you need to fight the war of pristine habitat. That's a HUGE battle of property rights in a fiercely independent country. You could spend years on a stream and then they drop a development of 4000 sq' trophy homes right on top of your stream (complete with lawn chemicals). Sorry to sound like a defeatest, but you'd figure TU would have accomplished more inroads to sustaining natives by now. So I ask: How can we maintain wild trout when we are bulldozing X acres a day of Massachusetts woods? It comes down to property rights.

<b>Massachusetts Audubon Releases Land Report

Approximately 16,000 acres of open space are developed each year in Massachusetts and 59% of the state is vulnerable to future construction, according to a recent report conducted by Massachusetts Audubon Society. Development covers 24% of the land in the state with the most rapid development occurring in the eastern part (Cape Cod and the Islands; southeastern Massachusetts; the area around Winchester, Stoneham, North Reading; a broad band along Rt. 495 including Greater Worcester, Lawrence, Methuen, and portions of the North Shore) and a portion of the Connecticut River Valley. Permanently protected open space covers 17% of the state in small tracts that are scattered across the state with the largest concentrations in central and western Massachusetts. The Society compiled the report, known as Losing Ground, in collaboration with numerous state agencies and other conservation organizations to analyze the scale, patterns, and implications of development on wildlife habitat in Massachusetts.</b>

striperman

03-10-2000, 07:26 PM

When the spring stocking comes along (and it has out this way) it really screws up the great fishing that happens during the winter months. Seems to put the hold over trout into limbo. Also briings out the truck chasers. The big browns don't really turn on till the bigger bass have started to show.

Terry about the catch and release thing, maybe the 34 inch size limit will stop a lot of the guys that are out for an easy meal from buying bait and hitting the beach. The 28 inch size sure made a lot of new fisherman come out of no where. With the smaller size there was a hight mortality due to guys (and some that I never thought I would see be so hungry) to upgrade their catch. Get a 28-30 inch fish and keep it... then 2 hours later take a 36 inch fish... Man this is big (to them) I gotta keep this baby... next thing they heave the smaller fish (now crab food) and go home to show off their bigger fish! The larger size keeper should take a percentage of the easy take anglers away from the shore. (I hope)
As for schoolie handling... best thing there would be to catch a few or 6 or something... then bag it... go look for something bigger....
tony

Pete

03-13-2000, 08:28 AM

Board,

When out the other day with the newly built 7' 4wt and fished a local stream around here. Water levels were a tad high, but very fishable. Three of us went and had a great time, as the air temps were in the low 50's and the water temp just crept above 40 degrees.

I caught a small brookie (7-8") on a little green bead caddis (sz 16) that was the trailing fly under a GRHE. I was happy as this isn't a stocked fish, but a naturally reproduced little fish.

Pete

trutta

03-13-2000, 10:23 AM

&gt;I caught a small brookie (7-8") on a little green bead &gt;caddis (sz 16) that was the trailing fly under a GRHE. I
&gt;was happy as this isn't a stocked fish, but a naturally &gt;reproduced little fish.

Oh Pete, how I envy you... we just had another snow storm last Saturday eve which dumped 6 to 8" of snow. Love those little natives. At least some body is getting out to fish.
Cheers

juro

03-13-2000, 10:51 AM

Pete - good to see you're getting some fishing in. I talked to John Greenwood (Anadromous Fisheries NH) who spoke very favorably about you and your assistance. We agreed on the poor reception the anadromous fish are getting from his neighbors in the Lawrence area. I'd like to discuss the situation with you sometime and see if there's a way to help John get those beautiful searun salmon up to Franklin, and perhaps even up to the Pemigewasset.

I'd like to do a feature article on the Legacy of the Merrimac Salmon a bit later on this spring. John said he'd ask the US dept of Wildlife for permission to use some of the incredible articfacts and photos from the 1800's. Let me know if you'd like to co-author.